Water treatment describes processes used to make water more acceptable for a desired end-use. These can include treatment of water for use as drinking water, or for industrial, medical or other uses. The goal of water treatment is to remove existing contaminants in the water, or to reduce the concentration of such contaminants so the water becomes fit for its desired end-use.
Reverse osmosis (RO) is one method of water treatment. In general, RO is a membrane-technology filtration method that removes many types of large molecules and ions from solutions. Solutions are made up of a solute which is a substance that is dissolved in another substance, called the solvent. By applying pressure to the solution when it is on one side of a selective membrane, the solute is retained on the pressurized side of the membrane and the pure solvent is allowed to pass to the other side of the membrane. The membrane that is used in RO should not allow large molecules or ions through the pores (holes), but should allow smaller components of the solution (such as the solvent) to pass freely.
In the normal osmosis process, the solvent naturally moves from an area of low solute concentration (High Water Potential), through a membrane, to an area of high solute concentration (Low Water Potential). The movement of a pure solvent to equalize solute concentrations on each side of a membrane generates osmotic pressure. Applying an external pressure to reverse the natural flow of pure solvent, thus, is reverse osmosis. The process is similar to other membrane technology applications. However, there are key differences between reverse osmosis and filtration. The predominant removal mechanism in membrane filtration is straining, or size exclusion, so the process can theoretically achieve perfect exclusion of particles regardless of operational parameters such as influent pressure and concentration. Reverse osmosis, however, involves a diffusive mechanism so that separation efficiency is dependent on solute concentration, pressure, and water flux rate.
Other water treatment processes that utilize membrane technology for filtration are nano filtration, and ultrafiltration. These technologies also utilize membrane technology but the membrane has a smaller nominal pore size.
Industrial and commercial reverse osmosis water treatment systems are widely available. All systems treat the water in pressure vessels, where the size and construction of the pressure vessels vary according to capacity (throughput) of the system and the design of the pressure vessel by the specific manufacturer. Thus, a commercial or industrial reverse osmosis system may be made up of a plurality of pressure vessels which may be connected lengthwise or horizontally. This requires that adjacent vessels be connected to each other. The fittings for connecting adjacent pressure vessels vary according to manufacturer. Additionally, the pressure vessels can be 4-31 feet in length and weigh several hundred pounds apiece.
Reverse osmosis water treatment systems will be designed differently based on the specifications needed for an application and the physical plant design. Accordingly, the plurality of pressure vessels will be connected in varying arrangements. Typically, a frame must be custom built for each system. This is costly as the frame is custom built for a particular system, and economies of scale cannot be achieved.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,282,823 to Acernese et al. and titled LIGHTWEIGHT MODULAR WATER PURIFICATION SYSTEM WITH RECONFIGURABLE PUMP POWER OPTIONS, the contents of which are incorporated in their entirety by reference, discloses a modular water purification system using a pump component that is mountable by standardized fittings into alternative prime mover modules that can receive and power the pump. The pump can be interchangeably mounted on an internal combustion engine module or an electric motor module. The pump is enclosed and protected by a frame with end plates, elongated bar handles and a standardized base that fits into and is fixed by a sliding flange and clamping structure, locating the pump precisely to engage a rotational fitting on the pump shaft with a complementary fitting coupled to the prime mover.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,326,325 to Liang et al. and titled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONNECTING WATER TREATMENT DEVICES, the contents of which are incorporated in their entirety by reference, discloses a method and apparatus for associating water treatment modules. A bracket may be used to provide support for one or more water treatment modules. The bracket may be permanently or removably attached to a module or housing or may simply support the module or housing without being attached to it. A bracket may be constructed and arranged to mate or join with another bracket that may be different or similar or identical to the first bracket. By joining two or more brackets together, different modules may be associated with each bracket, and the modules may be immobilized with respect to each other.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,811,042 to Kelly et al. and titled MODULAR RACK, the contents of which are incorporated in their entirety by reference, discloses a stackable storage unit may be vertically stacked for storage and transportation of storable members. The storage unit comprises at least one pair of rails extending in a first direction and having a contoured surface for supporting a surface area of a generally cylindrical storable member. At least two generally vertical walls extend in the first direction on opposing ends of the storage unit. The walls comprise a flat top surface with a plurality of alignment openings therein. A plurality of alignment tongues extending from the bottom of the wall are positioned and configured to engage corresponding alignment openings in an underlying storage unit. A rib structure underlies the rails and connects the walls to the rails. Feet extend below the bottom of the alignment tongues and support the storage unit on a generally flat surface or fit inside the walls of an underlying storage unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,070 to Magnussen, Jr. and titled MODULAR RACK, the contents of which are incorporated in their entirety by reference, discloses a modular component of a rack for storing articles comprising: (a) a longitudinally elongated body having opposite sides, a longitudinally elongated boundary, longitudinally spaced segmented boundaries laterally spaced from the longitudinally elongated boundary, and longitudinally spaced laterally extending boundaries at longitudinally opposite ends of the body, (b) the body having tongue and groove connections at certain of the boundaries, the connections defining guide shoulders extending widthwise between said opposite sides for guided connection with like tongue and groove connections on a like modular component, (c) and the body defining through openings extending widthwise between said sides, those openings sized to receive said articles which are elongated in said widthwise direction, the through openings being longitudinally spaced between the laterally extending boundaries, the openings located generally between the segmented boundaries, and the openings having longitudinally and laterally extending sides.